The
animated
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
television program ''
Futurama'' makes a number of satirical and humorous references to
religion
Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...
, including inventing several fictional religions which are explored in certain episodes of the series.
Fictional religions
Robotology
The episode "
Hell Is Other Robots" centers around
Bender's becoming addicted to high-voltage electricity, then discovering the religion of Robotology to help him break the habit. Sermons are conducted at the Temple of Robotology by the
Reverend Preacherbot, a character whose mannerisms draw heavily on
black church
The black church (sometimes termed Black Christianity or African American Christianity) is the faith and body of Christian congregations and denominations in the United States that minister predominantly to African Americans, as well as their ...
preacher stereotypes.
''Robotology'' is a play on the name
Scientology
Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent ...
,
and series creator
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is the creator of the comic strip ''Life in Hell'' (1977–2012) and the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Fut ...
has said that he received a call from the Church of Scientology concerned about the use of a similar name.
Robotology has a
holy text
Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...
, ''The Good Book 3.0'' which is stored on a 3.5"
floppy disk. Two symbols of the religion are shown in the episode. The first is a zig-zag line with a circle at either end, based on the
electronic symbol
An electronic symbol is a pictogram used to represent various electrical and electronic devices or functions, such as wires, batteries, resistors, and transistors, in a schematic diagram of an electrical or electronic circuit. These symbols are l ...
used for
resistors on
circuit diagram
A circuit diagram (wiring diagram, electrical diagram, elementary diagram, electronic schematic) is a graphical representation of an electrical circuit. A pictorial circuit diagram uses simple images of components, while a schematic diagram s ...
s.
Robots who accept Robotology are expected to abstain from behavior such as
smoking,
pornography,
stealing, abusing electricity, and drinking
alcohol. Consuming alcohol is usually necessary to power a robot's fuel cells, but this episode establishes that
mineral oil
Mineral oil is any of various colorless, odorless, light mixtures of higher alkanes from a mineral source, particularly a distillate of petroleum, as distinct from usually edible vegetable oils.
The name 'mineral oil' by itself is imprecise, ...
is an acceptable substitute. Sinners are punished by condemnation to Robot Hell, located under an abandoned amusement park in
Atlantic City, New Jersey. The punishments in Robot Hell are similar to the levels and rationale portrayed in
Dante's
Dante's is a nightclub and live music venue in Portland, Oregon. The venue, located along West Burnside Street and owned by Frank Faillace, hosts a variety of acts ranging from burlesque to rock music.
Dante's is housed in an unreinforced masonr ...
''
Divine Comedy
The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature ...
'', specifically the
''Inferno''.
Robot Hell is controlled by the
Robot Devil
This article lists the many characters of '' Futurama,'' an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a ...
. He is bound by the Fairness in Hell Act of 2275, allowing anyone to win their freedom by defeating him in a
fiddle contest with a solid gold fiddle, a reference to the song "
The Devil Went Down to Georgia
"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" is a song written and performed by the Charlie Daniels Band and released on their 1979 album '' Million Mile Reflections''.
The song is written in the key of D minor. Vassar Clements originally wrote the basic ...
".
Should the individual lose the fiddle contest, they will only receive a smaller, silver fiddle and the Robot Devil may kill them at his discretion.
In "
Ghost in the Machines", Bender's ghost is sent to an equivalent robot Heaven monitored by a Robot God whose streamlined design is reminiscent of EVE in the
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...
animated film ''
WALL-E
''WALL-E'' (stylized with an interpunct as ''WALL·E'') is a 2008 American computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed and co-written by Andrew Stanton, pro ...
''. This God appears to be distinct from the more ambiguous, universal 'God' character that appeared in "
Godfellas" and "
Bender's Big Score", who may or may not have been representative of the Gods of all religions, and/or a machine. Notably, the Robot God does not deny being God and treats Bender's ghost as his subject.
Robot Judaism
The episode "
Future Stock
"Future Stock" is the 21st episode in the third season of '' Futurama''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 31, 2002.
Plot
Planet Express holds its stockholders' meeting, and the state of the business is not goo ...
" introduces Robot Judaism in a scene where
Fry and
Dr. Zoidberg
Dr. John A. Zoidberg, often referred to only by his last name, is a fictional character from the animated series ''Futurama''. He is a Decapodian, a crustacean-like species of alien, who works as the staff doctor for ''Planet Express'', despite hi ...
, seeking free food, sneak into a "Bot Mitzvah" celebration (a spoof of the
Bar and Bat Mitzvah). As a joke about
Jewish dietary laws
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
' proscriptions against shellfish, Zoidberg was not allowed in (despite having Jewish stereotype qualities) inasmuch as he was an anthropomorphic lobster. At the Bot Mitzvah, Fry asks a Jewish robot if they don't believe in Robot Jesus, to which the robot replies, "We believe he was built, and that he was a very well-programmed robot, but he wasn't our Messiah". A banner written in
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
reads "Today you are a robot" (with two misspellings), referencing the traditional Jewish belief that a boy becomes a man at age 13, which is celebrated on his Bar Mitzvah. In the episode "
The Bots and the Bees" Bender's son, Ben, has a Bot Mitzvah celebration of his own where he becomes a man after being born only a few days prior. This scene reinforces the quick rate at which robots mature in the ''Futurama'' world as well as alludes to the practice of robot circumcision.
References to a holiday called 'Robanukah' appear in several episodes, as well, though it is heavily implied that Bender makes up this holiday to avoid work. In the ''Futurama Holiday Spectacular'', the Robanukah story involves a pair of fembots who must wrestle in petroleum oil for six and a half weeks. When the oil, which was predicted to last only four and a half weeks, lasts for 500 million years, Bender declares it a Robanukah miracle.
The First Amalgamated Church
The First Amalgamated Church is a
syncretic
Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thu ...
denomination of several mainstream religions extant in the 21st century, and is referenced in several episodes. The church and one of its priests,
Father Changstein el-Gamal, are introduced in the episode "
Godfellas". Father Changstein el-Gamal reappears in "
The Sting
''The Sting'' is a 1973 American caper film set in September 1936, involving a complicated plot by two professional grifters (Paul Newman and Robert Redford) to con a mob boss ( Robert Shaw).'' Variety'' film review; December 12, 1973, pag ...
" at Fry's funeral service, and in ''
Bender's Big Score'' at Lars and Leela's wedding. The religion appears to be a mix of
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
,
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
,
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...
,
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
,
Islam and even
agnosticism.
Other religions
Other religions are depicted or mentioned in passing in other episodes. In the episode "
Hell Is Other Robots",
Professor Farnsworth
Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, commonly referred to in-show as either Professor Farnsworth or simply Professor, is a fictional character in the American animated television series ''Futurama''. The mad scientist proprietor of the Planet Express ...
complains about Bender's devotion to Robotology, saying, "If only he had joined a mainstream religion, like
Oprahism or
Voodoo".
In the season 2 episode "
I Second That Emotion
"I Second That Emotion" is a 1967 song written by Smokey Robinson and Al Cleveland. First charting as a hit for Smokey Robinson and the Miracles on the Tamla/Motown label in 1967, "I Second That Emotion" was later a hit single for the group du ...
", Fry, Leela, and Bender are shown around the sewer mutants' village. Fry notices a large gold-plated
ICBM on the altar of the cathedral and exclaims "Wow! You guys worship an unexploded nuclear bomb?" to which one of the mutants responds "Yeah, but nobody is that observant. It's mostly a Christmas and Easter thing." The altar and the bomb are a reference to the film ''
Beneath the Planet of the Apes
''Beneath the Planet of the Apes'' is a 1970 American science fiction film directed by Ted Post and written by Paul Dehn. It is the second of five films in the original ''Planet of the Apes'' series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs. The film stars Ja ...
'', in which the subterranean mutants worship a nuclear bomb.
The season 4 episode "
Where No Fan Has Gone Before
"Where No Fan Has Gone Before" is the eleventh episode in the fourth season of the American animated television series '' Futurama''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 21, 2002. Set in a retro-futuristic 31st ...
", presents the situation of a television show becoming elevated to the status of a religion in the form of the "Church of Trek", where devotees of ''
Star Trek'' worship the characters and attend services dressed as officers and aliens from the show (in 23rd or 24th century).
In the second ''Futurama'' direct-to-video film, ''
The Beast with a Billion Backs'', Fry becomes the pope of a new religion which worships the interdimensional planet-sized tentacle monster named Yivo (pronouns: shkle/shkler/shklim), who brainwashed the inhabitants of Earth by attaching shkler tentacles to their brains, before taking them onto shklim, which resembled
heaven.
In the third film ''
Bender's Game'', Professor Farnsworth invokes the name of "the all-powerful Atheismo".
In the season 7 episode "
Free Will Hunting", when Bender walks throughout Chapek 9 looking to discover his never-programmed free-will unit, he happens upon a religious monastery led by a monk named Ab-bot; the abbot takes him in and converts him into his religion called "Order of the Binary Singularity" believing in the promise "Creatrix" or Mom will give them free-will units.
References to existing religions
Aside from inventing religions, the writers of ''Futurama'' also make references to established faiths.
In the episode "
When Aliens Attack", Earth is invaded by Omicronians demanding to see the season finale of ''Single Female Lawyer'', a television show which was accidentally knocked off the air 1,000 years earlier by
Fry.
Professor Farnsworth
Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, commonly referred to in-show as either Professor Farnsworth or simply Professor, is a fictional character in the American animated television series ''Futurama''. The mad scientist proprietor of the Planet Express ...
explains that the show no longer exists because most video tapes from that era were destroyed during the
Second Coming
The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messian ...
of
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
in the year 2443.
Ken Keeler
Ken Keeler is an American television producer and writer. He has written for numerous television series, most notably ''The Simpsons'' and ''Futurama''. According to an interview with David X. Cohen, he proved a theorem that appears in the ''Fut ...
, the writer of the episode, considered this joke one of the most
blasphemous
Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religio ...
lines in the show, because it suggested that the Second Coming had come and gone but life for the unsaved on Earth had carried on much as before.
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
is referenced several times throughout the show, the most notable being on "
A Tale of Two Santas", where all of the crew dress up as Santa and Zoidberg dresses up as "his friend Jesus" to attempt to stay Bender's execution. When the real Robot Santa appears and attacks the crew and the people attempting to execute Bender, the executioner exclaims "Get him, Jesus!" before diving behind an object, and in reference to Benjamin Franklin's famous remark, Zoidberg replies, "I help those who help themselves."
On several occasions, Professor Farnsworth uses the phrase "Sweet Zombie Jesus!" as an expression of shock or dismay. These exclamations are usually cut for
syndication
Syndication may refer to:
* Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system
* Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips
* Web syndication, ...
in the United States.
In the DVD of ''Futurama'' episode "
The Deep South
The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the war ...
," a cut scene shows Farnsworth muttering in his sleep about the Zombie Jesus returning at tea-time, when Farnsworth has no food to supply it.
Another undead figure, Chanukah Zombie, first mentioned in the episode "
A Tale of Two Santas", makes an appearance in ''
Bender's Big Score''. He teams up with
Robot Santa and
Kwanzaa Bot to fight alien scam artists who have seized possession of planet Earth. His weapons are themed around Jewish symbols and artifacts, including explosive
dreidels and a
TIE fighter
The Twin Ion Engine (TIE) fighter is a series of fictional starfighters featured in the ''Star Wars'' universe. TIE fighters are depicted as fast, agile, yet fragile starfighters produced by Sienar Fleet Systems for the Galactic Empire and by ...
(a reference to ''
Star Wars''; ''Star Wars'' actor
Mark Hamill supplies Chanukah Zombie's voice) adorned with
Stars of David
The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles.
A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...
and a
menorah.
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
is shown to still exist in some form in the 31st century, as the show makes several references to the "Space Pope": in the opening titles of "
Hell is Other Robots" (stating that the show has been "Condemned by the Space Pope"); in "
A Bicyclops Built for Two", with Bender's
rhetorical question "Is the Space Pope
reptilian?"; and in "
I Dated a Robot", in an endorsement at the end of an educational film ("Brought to you by the Space Pope"). In the last of these, a graphic displays a picture of the Space Pope as a reptilian alien in Papal
vestment
Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics (of all rites), Anglicans, and Lutherans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; this ...
s, encircled by the words ''Crocodylus pontifex''. Additionally, in the episode "
Put Your Head on My Shoulders
"Put Your Head on My Shoulders" is the seventh episode in the second season of the American animated television series ''Futurama''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 13, 2000. The episode was written by K ...
", Fry and
Amy Wong
This article lists the many characters of ''Futurama,'' an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a ...
have a lighthearted conversation about their parents' expectations of them; Fry remarks, "What am I, the
Pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
?" to which Amy replies, "Yeah, and if you were the Pope they'd be all, 'Straighten your Pope hat,' and 'Put on your good vestments!'" In the
sixth season episode, "
The Duh-Vinci Code", the cast travels to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
(announced as Future-Roma), where the Space Pope directs the ship's landing at the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
. A few episodes later, in "
The Silence of the Clamps," the Space Pope is shown conducting the wedding of the Donbot's older daughter.
Conversely,
Satanism is also shown to still exist in some form in the 31st century. In the episode "
A Taste of Freedom," Zoidberg's lawyer, Old Man Waterfall, requests a Satanic
funeral rite before dying, and Professor Farnsworth, in "
The Farnsworth Parabox", when he is presumably creating the box containing the parallel universe, appeals to Satan for help, mentioning that Satan owes him.
It is implied that some form of
Neopaganism may still exist in the future, based on references to a
lesbian coven across the street from Planet Express in "
Future Stock
"Future Stock" is the 21st episode in the third season of '' Futurama''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 31, 2002.
Plot
Planet Express holds its stockholders' meeting, and the state of the business is not goo ...
".
In "
The Lesser of Two Evils," one of the Miss Universe pageant contestants is an energy being identified, with little fanfare, as "Miss
Heaven", suggesting that by the 31st century, Heaven is an accessible part of the universe rather than a divine afterlife attainable only after death. However, another possibility is that Miss Heaven is simply from a conventional planet that has been ''named'' "Heaven".
Also,
Hermes Conrad
This article lists the many characters of ''Futurama,'' an American Cartoon series, animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the a ...
, who is
Jamaican, claims to be a
rastafarian.
Godfellas
The episode "
Godfellas" explores several religious themes in a more earnest and thought-provoking way than any other episode, and without explicitly referencing or parodying any particular religion. Bender is accidentally cast adrift in space and unwittingly becomes a god figure to a race of tiny people (Shrimpkins) living on an asteroid that impacts his body. Bender attempts to answer their prayers, but ends up harming the Shrimpkins. Meanwhile, the Shrimpkins who have migrated to Bender's backside, out of his sight, grow frustrated that their prayers go entirely unanswered. Eventually the two factions of Shrimpkins wipe one another out in a miniature
nuclear war.
After Bender's unsuccessful attempt at
godhood
Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.[divine ...](_blank)
, he encounters a god-like entity in space. Bender first wonders if the entity is God, because of its awesome power or a computer because it thinks in binary. The entity responds "Possible, I do feel compassion towards all living things" and "Possible, I am user-friendly" respectively, adding "My good chum" to the end both times. Bender eventually theorizes that the entity may have, in fact, been the remains of a satellite that collided with God, to which the entity replies "Probable". The conversation between them touches on the ideas of
predestination
Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby G ...
, prayer, and the nature of salvation, in what Mark Pinsky referred to as a theological turn to the episode which may cause the viewer to need "to be reminded that this is a cartoon and not a divinity school class".
By the end of the conversation, Bender's questions still have not been fully answered, and he is left wanting more from the voice than it has given him.
The character/entity returned, albeit briefly, in the first of the direct-to-DVD installments, ''
Bender's Big Score''.
The episode also sees Fry turning to religion to help locate Bender. Seeking guidance, he visits the First Amalgamated Church. When this fails to help him, Fry visits the "Monks of Dschubba" to use the radio telescope of a sect of monks who are attempting to find God in the universe. This subplot takes religion much more lightly, referring to the monks as a "crazy sect" and suggesting that prayer is usually unreliable.
The episode also makes reference to ''
The Nine Billion Names of God'' by
Arthur C. Clarke.
[Cook, Lucius (26 April 2004).]
Hey Sexy Mama, Wanna Kill All Humans?: Looking Backwards at Futurama, The Greatest SF Show You've Never Seen
''Locus Online
''Locus: The Magazine of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Field'', founded in 1968, is an American magazine published monthly in Oakland, California. It is the news organ and trade journal for the English-language science fiction and fantasy fields ...
''
The book ''Toons That Teach'', a text used by youth groups to teach teenagers about spirituality, recommends the episode "Godfellas" in a lesson teaching about "Faith, God's Will,
ndImage of God".
See also
*
Silicon Heaven – similar concepts of robotic Heaven and Hell are also explored in the ''
Red Dwarf'' universe.
*
Religion in ''The Simpsons''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Religion In Futurama
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